Paddle Boarding - Had a go yet ?

[Elessar]

Meanwhile, I have seats, I can row all day for exercise, I can take passengers and a coolbox of lunch, drop anchor and doze off, then motor home when I've had enough...and I'd have to go out in a storm to risk falling in.

I'm not tempted.

it always amuses me that in a thread that starts “have you tried “ or “have you experience of” there is always someone who says why they haven’t and won’t.

Those people have preconceptions about why the product or activity is no good, usually because they had a mate who didn’t like it.

I can do all those things you say that a paddleboard can’t do by the way. By taking my dinghy. A paddleboard is not a dinghy or trying to replace one. Bit like saying a boat is a rubbish way of getting to Brixham as the train has more legroom.

Oh and usually the people who haven’t tried it brigade criticise the people who have in a very tedious way. You let the side down there as your post was well written and amusing.

I dare you to have a go on one. You never know......?

 

[Greenheart]

Yeah, I asked for that, sorry.

But I won't lie. It does look like someone has gone out on a windsurfer, lost the rig, and is struggling back. That's what I always thought, until it was explained that this inconvenience was wilfully indulged in.

Windsurfers were already with us, and they're great! They involve a fair amount of physical exertion too, assuming the SUP is primarily bought in order to get out of breath rather than to avoid having to; but windsurfing must be more rewarding - it's basically sailing!

The point being, I will never go windsurfing either, it's a laughable idea when I have a nice boat. But I do admire and understand what makes windsurfers do it.

What drives the SUPper club, on the other hand, I do not understand.

 

[FairweatherDave]

What drives the SUPper club, on the other hand, I do not understand.
Dan.....that is well put. It has taken the donation of a board to me to enable my experience and in a scenic location and flat water it is great. But as someone who gets on the water already via dinghy or Osprey you have excellent or useful toys already....the majority of SUP people perhaps don't. The fad for kayaks maybe 10 years ago is similar ( and you don't get the appeal of those either!) . You do get a great view from an SUP rather than facing backwards rowing an Avon . I should add I have plenty of water toys, but the SUP is a good addition. I do get why the whole world has gone and bought something to get on the water when the weather is good, the sea has been hectic with them off Brighton and Hove. Yes it looks a bit weird and you feel a bit self conscious inflating one on a crowded beach, but once off the beach you are just another strange shape in your own little world...........somewhere more scenic and you are in harmony with the environment.......(ooops, getting a bit poetic.... but it is true)

 

[Greenheart]

It has taken the donation of a board to me to enable my experience and in a scenic location and flat water it is great...

Thanks Dave, I'm sure I'd be ready to have a go if they weren't such a price. That was mainly why I made the comparison with the engine-equipped Avon...if funds are limited, (and especially, if like many SUP-converts, I had no other form of getting afloat already), would I prefer a really versatile craft, or this faddish new floating curiosity?

The reason for its popularity (especially among women) is presumably to a significant extent, its newness, and the fact that the user must stand up, and is very conspicuous. It's a high-profile 'look at me being (insert so clever/so fit/such a dick)' toy. The fact that it is suddenly very popular does eliminate the impression that its users are skilled with great balance, and lends an air of instantly-learned simplicity that no form of sailing shares.

I do lots of extravagantly silly things in the name of fun, but I doubt SUPping would reward the effort or expense, for me.

Interesting that you say scenery and flat water make it nice...it struck me that a bit of surf might just make it appealing...

 

[FairweatherDave]

The reason for its popularity (especially among women) is presumably to a significant extent, its newness, and the fact that the user must stand up, and is very conspicuous. It's a high-profile 'look at me being (insert so clever/so fit/such a dick)' toy. The fact that it is suddenly very popular does eliminate the impression that its users are skilled with great balance, and lends an air of instantly-learned simplicity that no form of sailing shares.

We are delving deep into the psyche here .... Like your high profile options, I share the view of what they look like............but then you need to try it and you would get past that. Thread drift here.....on holiday we were just leaving the beach as a family, lugging the aforementioned beach toy amongst other things, to the car. Suddenly the relaxed holiday mood in the car park changed as a pod of neoprene clad sea swimmers got out of their cars, looking grimly focused and oblivious (contemptuous of) to the happy holiday makers, dare I say with an air of elitist health fascism etched in. I got a real wave of dislike and anger to them out of nowhere, I was quite shocked at my reaction. And that is partly I have also been on their side of the fence as a mountain biker in a group of blokes, and rigging up windsurfing in numerous beach side car parks.......Clearly I need therapy. But doing something and what it looks like to an outsider are so different.

Meanwhile I think the mistake is to connect SUP with sailing. There is little connection except water. It is a paddle sport, so rowing or kayaking compare. Scoring an Avon with a working two stroke for £400 is an achievement, just as well it is a very niche market. The price would be a lot higher if the whole world wanted one!

 

[Baggywrinkle]

SUPping allows people to go for the equivalent of a walk on the water - which annoys me because I'm on the water to get away from them all and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet in private - having them glide past my cockpit and have a good gawp when I'm at anchor is rather annoying - if I wanted to impersonate a zoo animal I'd tie up stern-to at one of the many town quays and harbours.

Hopefully it`s a fad and will disappear soon - right now they join the ranks of jet-ski riders and generator users on my list of people the world wouldn't miss.

Bah, humbug!!!

 

[Greenheart]

We are delving deep into the psyche here ?.....on holiday we were just leaving the beach as a family, lugging the aforementioned beach toy amongst other things, to the car. Suddenly the relaxed holiday mood in the car park changed as a pod of neoprene clad sea swimmers got out of their cars, looking grimly focused and oblivious (contemptuous of) to the happy holiday makers, dare I say with an air of elitist health fascism etched in.

Meanwhile I think the mistake is to connect SUP with sailing. There is little connection except water. It is a paddle sport, so rowing or kayaking compare. Scoring an Avon with a working two stroke for £400 is an achievement, just as well it is a very niche market.

To recapitulate, my Avon and engine are far from new, but the same money would have bought a fashionable new paddle-board, and perhaps SUP-buyers regard their purchase as worth it, just as I know the dinghy and motor were, for me. So everyone's happy.

Quite right about the SUP being unrelated to sailing, except that the same activity must be available to owners of conventional sailboards, by leaving the sail on the beach...if I owned a sailboard, I might amuse myself that way for an idle hour occasionally...but to go out and buy something for that sole purpose, which doesn't also allow the sailing bit? Hmm. ?

Regarding your drift, I'm sure you don't need therapy, Dave. I routinely get the same feeling when launching the sailing dinghy amongst dinghy racers...they're not there because it's a nice day to enjoy a picnic afloat, or to introduce a friend/family member to some gently amusing/involving fun...no, they're there to prove something, and apparently that requires seriousness. It's the reason why any form of competition makes me lose interest faster than a foul smell. I'm not stupid or unfit, but I utterly reject the sporting mentality that says "Right! Grim determination mode!"

 

[RJJ]

I use it to get to our mid-river pontoon. It means I don't have to pay hundreds of pounds to store the dinghy ashore (on the Hamble); paddleboard takes five minutes from car to water's edge, I reach the boat, launch the dinghy (stored on deck) and return for family and baggage.

You can get the full kit on eBay for 250 or so. Cheaper in France for some reason.

It's a pleasant enough way to get around quite slowly. The "exercise" bit is in fact a USP compared to kayaking or anything else - the slightest ripple means you are using your core non-stop, like Pilates with good scenery.

And you can surf on very small shorebreak, which is quite fun, without having to do that press-up/jump up that so many of us have tried but never properly nailed.

And if you want to go faster you can get really narrow ones. I haven't used them but I would be surprised if speed wasn't comparable to a kayak.

And it rolls down to a fraction the size of the dinghy.

 

[Keith 66]

Popped down the boat yesterday evening to do a couple of jobs, nice calm summers evening with a neap tide. Saw some paddleboarders coming up the creek on the tide, then more & more.
Counted them & there were 53 plus two more that had gone out from our club. It seems there is a paddleboard club started up at leigh.
In a covid world where all the gyms are shut or limited in numbers a lot of people must be taking it up as exercise.
You dont need to belong to a yacht club or similar with attendant costs, chuck it in your car pump it up & away, no commitment required.
Personally i prefer my rowing skiff, dry & fast & somewhere to put sandwiches & drink. Plus a sail for when the wind is in the right direction!

 

[wully1]

My latest, greatest toy...

2020 Hyper Nut Foil 4-in-1 Paddleboard for Foiling – Starboard SUP

 

[mjcoon]

My latest, greatest toy...

2020 Hyper Nut Foil 4-in-1 Paddleboard for Foiling – Starboard SUP

Fascinating! But I don't understand the photo that shows a foiling SUP surfing (no sail). I get normal surfing; they are just sliding downhill, as can be done on the Severn Bore. But if foiling the foil is submerged, so how does it know which way is downhill?

Mike.

 

[wully1]

All you need is water flow over the foil

 

[mjcoon]

All you need is water flow over the foil

Hardly an answer likely to satisfy a physicist (or any scientist, I hope!). But I do see that the foil can be gliding downwards and so long as the surface descends at about the same rate the rider will stay aloft! I enjoyed the video...

 

[prv]

Personally i prefer my rowing skiff, dry & fast & somewhere to put sandwiches & drink.

For a long time I liked the idea of having a decent rowing boat for exploring rivers and harbours - I’ve enjoyed pottering about under oars since I was about six. But I just don’t have the facilities to practically store, transport, and launch one. If I did, I’d probably never have got into paddleboarding.

Pete

 

[SimonKNZ]

We bought an inflatable one a couple of years ago and keep it on the boat. In NZ, sailing is mainly between anchorages rather than marinas/buoys and the SUP is a pleasant way of getting some exercise in the mornings and evenings. We also carry a tender and a plastic kayak, but I find the SUP easier to stow, launch and retrieve than the kayak and I enjoy paddling it more. Wind is a problem for them, but I usually avoid anchoring in windy spots so that's a moot point.
As a competitive windsurfer in my previous life I'd love to have a windsurf board on the yacht, but the thought of trying to rig up a decent size sail on a 39' yacht puts me off. Slightly tempted to upgrade to a SUP that can take a rig but I'm not sure that pottering around using a 5m sail would amuse me for long.

 

[TernVI]

I am surfing for 5 years and last 2 years i'm surfing on the sup paddle board. I think it's easier and funnier than surfing in the classic way. The only thing was bothering me when i just switched on the sup paddle board was the problem with sup pump.

Yes, it looks good when SUP's can catch the waves quicker than conventional surfboards.

Almost a completely different game from paddleboarding on flat water, which looks a little dull to me.
But then, I sail a Laser sometimes, and that is much better in waves too.

 

[Elessar]

I am surfing for 5 years and last 2 years i'm surfing on the sup paddle board. I think it's easier and funnier than surfing in the classic way. The only thing was bothering me when i just switched on the sup paddle board was the problem with sup pump.

That’s interesting. I’ve only every done it in flat water.
do you stand like surfboard with feet fore and aft or stay like a SUP with feet side by side when you catch a wave? And how do you steer?

 

[xyachtdave]

I’ve been practicing standing further back on my board with one foot in front of the other so I can spin it around in circles with the front half of the board out the water.

I think this is probably where you’d want to be standing to surf, moving your weight from back to front foot to control the angle of the board.

Got wet many times gaining this new skill!

 

[JerseyDiver]

My wife is quite talented on her SUP. This is a cruise on an inflatable Itiwit board. We carried this on a 4.8m Rib.
A popular race is round Island 34nm in about 6 hours ?

 

[Elessar]

My wife is quite talented on her SUP. This is a cruise on an inflatable Itiwit board. We carried this on a 4.8m Rib.
A popular race is round Island 34nm in about 6 hours ?

Wow! Very impressive indeed. And one in the eye for all the old farts who think paddleboarding is boring.